I had a chance to use and take some measurements on a recently purchased Skoll. I took some measurements with a signal generator, and some using my turntable setup as a source. When running a MC cartridge (AT33PTG2) and the Skoll unbalanced (100Ohm, 50pF, 60dB), I did observe more noise in the left channel than the right. The levels are well below playing levels, but if you would turn the volume up to seek out the noise floor, yes, I found more noise in the left channel. This is with the
stylus up, not playing:
View attachment 348058
I swapped the leads around to make sure the noise was tied to the Left channel on the Skoll. And it was for me.
I swapped in my phono preamp (Cambridge Audio CP2) into the same setup and didn't observed any imbalance in the noise floor. Nor did
I have so much 60Hz and harmonics on either channel.
Another observation I had about the Skoll that hasn't been mentioned is the difference in gain on available on the unbalanced connections.
I know Amir's measurements show the balanced connections, so I measured the gain on the unbalanced connections. The manual doesn't
mention any difference, however, I did measure 6 dB less gain on the unbalanced connections. I understand there is normally a 6 dB difference
between these connection types, however, its important to note. 6 dB is a
massive difference if you aren't expecting it.
For instance when I had my signal generator set to to 0.005 volts, with the Skoll in the 40dB setting, I was only measuring 0.2505 volts output which is 34dB. This means when using the unbalanced connections you almost have to go up to the next gain setting to get closer to your target gain. Would have been nice if that
was spelled out in Amir's reviews and more importantly, in the manual.